Gentle Transition
by sezjara
Summary: A routine mission gone wrong and an unexpected medical report change the life of Dr. Jennifer Keller. Ronon/Keller ship. A/N: Updated this to fix a couple of grammatical errors, but there are no changes to the actual story itself.


**Gentle Transition**

_By Sezjara_

A/N: Not mine, not for money, just for fun.

Set in late season five. Probably AU, for my own purposes. Is partially based off spoilers from season 5_,_ but written to suit my desires. Probably also partly inspired by all the many, many fics I have read, so I send thanks to all other authors who have inspired me.

Established R/K, and again, maybe some minor spoilers.

Rating: we'll say T for Teen. Hints towards a couple of things, but nothing too graphic.

Thanks to my sister **shaiewolf**, and to **renisanz**, you both are the best!!

Enjoy!!

RJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJRJ

**Gentle Transition**

_She stood on the balcony, watching them leave on a routine trading mission. Her heart clenched, giving her a bad feeling about this one, but she ignored it, pushing the feeling aside._

_The next time she stood on that same balcony, it was to watch two-thirds of their team return several hours late, battered and bruised, with grim faces. He wasn't with them._

_The briefing was fairly straightforward. Wraith attack; running towards the caves trying to save as many of the people as they could. They were able to save half of the villagers, but he was among the ones to be taken. He had sacrificed himself to push a young girl out of the way of an incoming dart._

Jennifer woke with a start. Opening her eyes she reached out for him, but found the other half of her bed empty. Empty, as it had been for months now. She looked at her watch, 5 am, another long day ahead.

She still had these dreams at night. They weren't as bad now as they used to be, but they still haunted her. The details would vary in each dream, but one thing remained the same: he was gone, taken by the Wraith. Not dead; even after 8 months without him, she still refused to believe he was dead. She kept telling herself he was just missing, and they would find him soon and bring him home.

The official search had been called off by the IOA only 4 months after his disappearance, claiming that if they hadn't found him by then, they never would and they didn't want to waste resources trying to find someone who was probably dead anyway. They had searched countless planets, including Sateda, and found no traces of him. The "unofficial" search, as many well knew, was still going on every time a team stepped through the gate.

Other than that, things were fairly normal in Atlantis. The Wraith were still a threat to the Pegasus galaxy. Michael was still alive and still trying to create his army of hybrid warriors. The good news was that Teyla was home safe with her son, who was growing so quickly they couldn't seem to keep up with him. And Carson, he was finally out of stasis, cured, and back in the infirmary.

At first he had worked alongside Jennifer, allowing her to help him get caught up on what happened while he was "missing." After that, he started covering various shifts so some of the others could take a few days off to rest. Most recently, for the last couple of months or so, he was covering for Jennifer completely to give her the rest she so desperately needs.

As for Jennifer, her life had been flipped completely upside-down. First, she had finally allowed herself to fall in love again. Some didn't approve of their relationship, but she thought he was the greatest person in the galaxy; both galaxies, actually. He wasn't exactly the best at expressing his feelings, but then again, what guy was? He really was very sweet, though, and he really cared about her. At the beginning of their relationship they took things slowly, but that only lasted for a couple of weeks, until another near-death experience made them decide not to waste any more time with formalities. Soon enough they were spending nights in each others quarters. Then he was taken by the Wraith. From that point on, everything seemed to spiral out of control.

She had received the news a couple of weeks later, not long after her scheduled exam. She would never forget that moment, the moment that changed her life. She can still remember the conversation as if it were yesterday.

_Looking up from her laptop at the sound of a knock, she sees Carson in her doorway, looking apologetic for interrupting her work._

"_Come in, Dr. Beckett. What can I do for you?"_

"_You can call me Carson, for starters."_

"_Alright, Carson, what can I help you with?"_

"_Well, I was going over the results of your latest examination tests, and I found something you ought to know about. Here, take a look for yourself."_

_Handing her the folder he was carrying, she opened it, read through its contents, and then closed it, tears swimming in her eyes._

"_Are you sure these results are correct?"_

"_I'm positive. I ran the test twice myself, just to be sure."_

Groaning, Jennifer quickly forgets her musings as pain radiates across her abdomen. Knowing she won't make it to the infirmary on her own, she reaches for her radio.

"Doctor Beckett, this is Doctor Keller, I need medical assistance in my quarters right away."

"Alright; sit tight, love, I'm on my way."

RJRJRJRJRJRJ

"Try to get as much rest as you can. Everything is alright for the moment, but I want to keep you here for a while just in case. If you need anything, just push the call button, alright?"

"Thank you, Carson."

RJRJRJRJRJRJ

A little while later, Jennifer is startled out of her attempt to rest when the alarms go off, indicating an incoming wormhole. Moments later she is disturbed again by voices in the hallway; or rather, one voice in particular. Getting out of bed carefully, she comes around the privacy curtain just in time to see him walk into the infirmary, and then she sees only blackness.

RJRJRJRJRJRJ

Groaning once again, Jennifer wakes, immediately recognizing the hand tightly holding onto hers. Smiling, she opens her eyes and sees him, right next to her bed, looking at her with a deep amount of concern in his eyes. Wiping the tears of joy from her face, she sits up, allowing him to envelope her in a hug.

"You're home!!" The amount of joy she feels right at this very moment, being able to see him again, to hold him again, she could cry and laugh and shout all at once. "There's so much we need to talk about…"

Grasping her hand, he sits beside her on the bed, and places a gentle kiss on her lips. When they part, he is smiling a smile she is certain hasn't graced his face in months. Looking into his eyes, she sees only love. Love for her.

RJRJRJRJRJRJ

Standing beside her bed, he holds her hand as he wipes the sweat off her forehead with a damp cloth. "You're doing great."

"You're just saying that because that's what you're supposed to say!"

"Yeah, but I still love you!"

Her heart melted at that, but she was prevented from responding as she was once again consumed by pain. It was Carson who spoke next.

"Alright, we're almost there…one more time, now…there you go…and that's it! Congratulations! You have a very beautiful and healthy baby girl!"

As the cries of the newborn babe fill the infirmary, Jennifer finally allows the tears of joy to course down her face. Looking up, she can clearly see the change that has taken place in the man before her. His eyes, so fierce, full of fire, are now filled with nothing but love and affection. His heart, once broken like shattered glass, consumed by the pain of loss, has finally become whole again.

As the baby girl is wrapped in a soft, pink blanket, and placed into his waiting arms, Jennifer finally realizes just how much she really loves him. She will never forget this moment, the moment when this man finally let himself love wholly again. The moment when Jennifer knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that she would love him for the rest of her life.

"Hey, Ronon?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you, too."

THE END


End file.
